If you’re starting a new business you’re likely agonizing over which POS system to choose. You might already be in business and not entirely satisfied with your current machine. There are a lot of options out there and it can be hard to discern the best choice for your business’ unique needs. It’s no secret that we here at Florida Merchant Services are wild about the Clover make of POS machines. Their terminals are intuitive for both employees and customers, they are extremely customizable, and provide excellent service without being prohibitively expensive. They have a wide variety of different types of machines that fit different types of businesses like a glove, and today we’d like to take a look at two of their smaller models: The Clover Flex and the Clover Mini in order to provide you with their comparative advantages, as well as the types of businesses they would benefit the most.

There are a lot of reasons why businesses choose to be cash-only. For many cash-only businesses, this decision might be purely circumstantial. Rural areas without access to reliable internet or cellular connections might not have the capability to dependably offer credit card transactions. Many business owners are wary of transaction fees, especially in ultra-urban areas like New York City where cash-only businesses are common due to customary practice. There also seems to be a lack of confidence in the security of electronic transactions of all types among many business owners. Regardless of the impetus for being a cash-only business, we’d like to make the case that if you’re a small business owner who does not accept card transactions, you really should be. Any honest appraisal of the risks and benefits will certainly come out in favor of accepting card transactions. Here are five reasons why you absolutely should be accepting credit cards at your small business.

3. Are You More Than Just a Customer Number? Concomitan tly, local POS providers are actually accountable to the businesses they serve. When you choose a local merchant service provider, you're not a number on a spreadsheet, you’re treated like real people with real concerns. This proximity and access means that your concerns are addressed in a timely manner as opposed to being lost in the shuffle of the database of a tech giant. 4. Do They Know Your Business (and Your Community)? When you choose a local POS provider, you also gain more direct contact with technicians who can help optimize and streamline the systems that you have in place. Local workers with intimate knowledge of the area they serve are better able to account for special circumstances; affording small business owners the convenience of face-to-face interactions with the professionals who set up their POS systems. We here at Florida Merchant Services are proud to serve our community and to make ourselves available to our clients. If you’re in the market for a POS provider, give us a call and see the difference choosing local can make!

Christian Entrepreneurship: Both a Blessing and a Burden As an entrepreneur, you have been given a great gift, and with it comes great responsibility. Like the joy of being a dad to your kids, you wouldn't trade the thrill of running your own business for anything. And just like parenthood, some giant responsibilities come with the territory. These obligations are even greater for the Christian business owner.  Just Running a Business Is Hard Enough Any small business proprietor has to be responsive to the marketplace. That means offering value to customers while keeping employees engaged. Entrepreneurs are pinched between the demands of their clients, the needs of their staff, the requirements of government authorities, and the hard, cold reality of cash flow. Threading that needle is a herculean task, and a fantastic adventure.

Paying by Smartphone is a Revolutionary Idea For those of us who remember a world where accessing the internet meant not being able to make phone calls, the concept of using a cell phone to make an in-person purchase still seems pretty fantastical. With the advent of Apple Pay and other device-based payment options, it seems like this technology is here to stay. A Genius Technology Makes for a Simple Transaction So what is Apple Pay, and how is it different from using a credit card? Apple iPhone users can connect their credit and debit cards to what is called a “Wallet,” an app on their phones that acts as an intermediary between the point of purchase and the bank/credit card company. Apple Pay does not actually use the credit card number to make payments, but rather a “token” that encrypts all of the data that is transferred between the merchant and the bank. This is the truly incredible feature of Apple Pay technology: at no point is your actual card number, or any of the other collateral information ever recorded by the merchant. The Securest Transaction Ever? This is a game changer in terms of payment security. Even contactless payments offered by many credit cards cannot hold a candle to the amount of encryption and randomization created in an Apple Pay Transaction. The additional security of Apple Pay requiring real-time confirmation by the customer in the form of passcode entry and face/touch ID means that your digital wallet is far more fortified against forms of fraud such as skimming or scanning. In case it isn’t already clear, we are big fans of Apple Pay. It offers a huge upgrade in security to both customers and merchants, and that alone makes it desirable to accept Apple Pay at your business. What Apple Pay Requires of You, the Merchant Apple Pay is not without its drawbacks. Most significantly, businesses with older payment terminals that do not have NFC capabilities would have to purchase or lease new hardware in order to accept Apple Pay. It is also an evolving and largely nascent technology, so hardware requirements could become more pronounced in the future. That being said, we still cannot recommend accepting Apple Pay enough. Contact us, Florida Merchant Services, today about upgrading your credit card terminal to Clover, our favorite point of sale machine on the market today. The future of merchant services is here folks, and it’s arriving on your phone!

Paying More Than You Have to for Card Processing Does Nothing for Your Business. Here Are 4 Ways to Cut Your Costs: Here at Florida Merchant Services, we have a passion for helping small businesses succeed. One way we help you succeed is helping you save money on your business expenses. One area that is often overlooked is credit card processing fees. To the surprise of many business owners there are steps to help lower costs. Here are four of the best ways we’ve found to lower your credit card processing fees. 1. Practice due diligence with fraud prevention. Have you ever wondered why your processing fees are higher for keyed-in transactions than card swipes? It’s because merchant services take on a higher degree of fraud risk with manual processing because there is no card present at the transaction. You can circumvent these extra fees by swiping as many cards as possible. For transactions where the manual entry is unavoidable such as online sales, be sure to set up safeguards such as address and credit card verification systems. These things might seem trivial, but they save you a lot of money in the long run.

Tipping culture can be the cause of much hand-wringing and grumbling on the part of consumers. Coffee shop patrons and restaurant diners alike frequently find themselves agonizing over small bills in tip jars and percentages on paper receipts; teetering on the fine line between appropriate and prodigal tipping. For business owners, however, tipping culture is a decided win. Labor is usually the greatest expense for any business and tipping allows employers to save money on their end while also ensuring their employees are duly compensated for their labor. It is prudent to make sure that employees are satisfied with their remuneration by increasing their tipped wages as much as possible. One of the best ways to increase tips for your employees is to employ preset tipping options on your Point of Sale device. This is why Florida Merchant Services use Modern POS systems, which will prompt customers to add a tip to their total before they complete the transaction with preselected amounts. These prompts are fully customizable by dollar amount or percentage of the total sale, and have been demonstrated to significantly increase the amount of tips received. Preset tipping options are so effective because they operate on basic human psychology. First of all, through credit card or digital payment, consumers tend to not feel the “pain of paying.” That is to say, it is easier to part with a dollar when it is an abstract number on a screen as opposed to physical cash in one’s wallet. Customers are also more likely to leave a tip when they have to select a button reading “No Tip” as opposed to leaving a line blank on a credit card slip or conveniently not noticing the tip jar on the counter. Most importantly, having preset tipping options decreases the “friction” between the customer and the tip. Simply put, it makes tipping easier and quicker, therefore increasing the likelihood that people will do it. As a small business owner you are looking to save on expenses while also taking care of your valued employees who help your business to thrive. Increasing their tips through preset tipping options is an excellent way to accomplish both of these necessities. Contact Florida Merchant Services today and ask about our state-of-the-art Clover POS machines. Both you and your employees will love the numbers you see!

Anyone who has experience with eCommerce and merchant services can attest to just how much of a headache customer chargebacks can be. Not only do the bank fees add up, they can negatively affect your business’ ability to access credit and create hostile interactions between you and your customers. In this article, we will delineate methods through which you can minimize the number of chargebacks your company receives. It’s important to understand that chargebacks exist for a good reason: They protect consumers from fraudulent charges. The best way to approach the issue is to employ the best practices on your part. First of all, you should perform your due diligence to protect your customers from online fraud and minimize your own liability. Merchant safeguards such as Card Verification Codes and Address Verification Systems are applied at checkout to help ensure that the purchaser is who they claim to be. These systems are always provided to Florida Merchant Services customers and go a long way to prevent fraudulent charges. Secondly, your card billing descriptor should provide your customers with as much information as possible. One of the most common reasons customers chargeback is that they do not recognize the charge on their bank statements. Your card billing descriptor should include your company name and as much information as possible about what was purchased. Fortunately, this is something that Florida Merchant Services can set up for your business and reduce customer confusion. Finally, providing superior customer service on your end is one of the most effective ways to minimize chargebacks. Your company should offer easy return and refund policies and prioritize expeditious responses to customer inquiries. When your customers know that your business is responsive and sympathetic to their concerns, they are much less likely to resort to a chargeback out of frustration. Not only does this save you bank fees and a potential merchant account freeze, it also helps strengthen your company’s reputation as one that cares about its customers. The world of merchant services can be difficult to navigate, and best practices are not always self-evident. Florida Merchant Services makes the success of your business our priority and is here for you with any questions you might have. Get in touch today and let’s get to work for you!